PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE:WINNING A BUDGET VICTORY FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

"This budget is a hard-won victory for the American people. Simply put, it's a budget that meets our priorities, supports our values, and invests in our future."

President Bill ClintonThursday, November 18, 1999

Today, President Clinton announced that the White House and Congress have reached agreement on the first budget of the 21st century The budget makes significant progress in education, public safety, the environment, health care for people with disabilities, and many other issues important to the American people.

A Hard-Won Victory for the American People. Highlights of the budget agreement passed today include:

Protects Fiscal Discipline

Keeps America on course to pay off the publicly held debt by 2015.

Keeps Education our Number-One Priority

Helps reduce class size in the early grades by hiring 100,000 quality teachers over the next six years;

More than doubles funding for after-school programs;

Provides $134 million to help turn around failing schools and hold them accountable for results.

Hires More Police for our Streets

Funds the first installment toward hiring up to 50,000 more police officers for our streets over the next 5 years.